Days Gone By
by BlizzardAngel
Summary: Short little fics of what happens to Heero and Duo at moments of their lives. They have a good friendship but could that turn into something more? They show their funny, sad, and caring sides! A collection of fics, like an arc! R&R plz!
1. Night Terrors

Disclaimer: Duo Maxwell, Heero Yuy and all other Gundam Wing characters belong to Bandai.

Gundam Wing

**_Days Gone By..._**

Amethyst orbs opened to the blinking red lights of the digital clock by the bed. Those eyes blinked sluggishly and finally just closed, trying to get sleep to claim his tired form.

That sleep evaded him and the teen gave a frustrated grunt, pushing himself up and swinging his legs over the side of this small bed, his feet come into contact on a cold wooden floor.

"State condition." A voice said in a commanding note.

Duo surprisingly stared at the bed opposite his own.

"Hey, Heero-buddy. Not able to catch any shut eye either?" There was no response and Duo stood and walked silently towards the bedroom door.

"I'm just gonna get a snack." The braided boy didn't wait for a response as he left their room.

Duo stepped into the kitchen and opened the cabinet above the sink counter and withdrew a plastic cup.

He didn't know why he was so restless. As soon as he turned the faucet on the kitchen's bright light chased away the darkness and Duo whipped around to stare at pilot 01. Heero stood at the entrance, unmoving until Duo recognized that there was no threat.

"So you want something to drink?" He quipped.

"You should sleep." The braided boy stared upon the perfect solider for a moment before turning back to his original task.

"Don't worry man. I'll get enough."

"Why do you have nightmares?"

The shoulders on the braided pilot went tense.

"You never receive sufficient rest for your body which decreases your performance and the success rate for missions." Heero never moved as he studied the other teen.

"I said not to worry about it. I just want some water and I'll go back to bed. I get enough sleep man... I won't fail you on a mission and dose off while killing an OZ solider." Duo quickly sipped some water and headed back to his and Heero's room. Blue eyes followed his every movement as they walked back to the bedroom and they watched him slide into bed.

"Get rest for the mission tomorrow."

"No problem, Hee-man. Night!" There was no response from the stoic, brunet pilot as they slipped into slumber.

* * *


	2. Infiltration

Disclaimer: Duo Maxwell, Heero Yuy and all other Gundam Wing characters belong to Bandai.

Gundam Wing

**_Days Gone By..._**

"OZ!" Heero yelled as he watched an OZ personnel sneak up behind Duo while the said pilot was fighting five men. Heero raised his gun and shot the threatening man while the braided pilot brought his foot up and kicked one man across the face, snapping his neck from the sheer amount of force put into the action.

Two more shots rang out from Heero's gun and Duo spotted a rifle on the floor. His body reacted immediately, diving for it and bringing it up to the gut of the man that was literally on top of him. His finger did not hesitate to pull the trigger.

"Finish the mission!" Heero said as he started running for the controls room.

"Right behind ya buddy!"

They raced down the corridor and into to the unprotected room. Duo was at the computer and hacked into it. He needed a minute to completely download the data and eleven seconds to upload the virus.

"Fend off Heero. Forty-five seconds to go!"

"Acknowledged." Duo heard his partner reload his gun and readily took position at the entrance to the room.

"Come on, come on! Virus uploading now!"

Heero heard but he also heard many footsteps racing in their direction. He snatched out a bomb and yelled.

"OZ!"

"DONE!"

Heero saw the first solder run in and he smashed his windpipe with a chop. The Wing pilot sent out the grenade and noticed Duo was heading out to where the bomb was going to blow in seconds. He reached quickly for Duo and yanked the teen's arm to get away from the door.

The explosion was loud and rocked everything around them as Heero's body covered the other man beneath him. Pieces of shrapnel pierced his skin and Heero winced.

"Baka!" He hissed in pain, staring into Duo's deep violet eyes.

They stood quickly and ran out of the room to see scattered OZ soldiers and body parts burning. Without hesitation, they both knew where to go and they headed towards their escape route, devoid of any other incidents as they set off another round of bombs that went off on the other side of the facility. Running at full speed, they made it over to their rendezvous point where they were able to say, 'mission completed'.

* * *

"Damn it Heero! I said I was sorry so stop making me feel so damn guilty and let me help take care of those wounds!"

Heero sat down on the bed while Duo glared at him.

"Hn."

"Okay. Let me get the kit." Duo left the room and came back with a white box.

"Take off your shirt. Do you have any other injuries? I see some blood on the back of your leg."

"..." Duo grew frustrated and snapped.

"Pilot O1! State your condition!" The blue eyed pilot looked surprised at the outburst but complied.

"Several abrasions and open wounds on my back. Puncture wound behind my right thigh but my status is not fatal."

"If you don't let me help you, it will be." Duo retorted heatedly.

"Hn...your status?" Heero inquired.

"I'm fine. You took most of the damage. I just have a bruise or two. No biggie."

"Hn." Heero was satisfied with that response, just glad that Duo didn't get hurt for some reason...

Duo noticed the man relax and started his treatment, taking little pieces of metal from the others back. He applied ointment and dressed the wounds to the best of his ability.

"You're done man. That wasn't so bad, now was it?" Heero did not say anything and just turned to get up for his laptop.

"Aye! Don't you think you should take a rest before you do anything more? I think J could wait a little while before getting the report."

"Hn."

"Aw, don't give me that! Do it."

Heero turned around and walked over to the door.

"What do you want to eat?" Duo brightened and hopped up excitedly.

"Anything that tastes good!"

"Hn, that won't be hard."

"Hey!" Duo said a little irritated. "What does that mean!?"

* * *


	3. Bringing Duo Back

Disclaimer: Duo Maxwell, Heero Yuy and all other Gundam Wing characters belong to Bandai.

Gundam Wing

**_Days Gone By..._**

"Kuso!"

Heero was working frantically. Duo got captured almost fifty-two hours ago. The wing pilot figured out where the braided baka was finally being held after they had moved him to several different bases. The interrogation has been a failure as of yet and no information has been retrieved from the pilot.

_'Good' _He thought but he also wanted to know the condition of his partner. All his determination was stemming from his worry and he was not going to fail in retrieving his partner...Duo.

"Mission Accepted."

* * *

The O1 pilot snuck through the corridors, positions of soldiers and where they were posted memorized and coming into very good use. He finally stood at the cell where their prisoner was being held and suppose to be interrogated again in approximately one hour and fifty-two minutes and counting. There was a check up on the prisoner every half hour and the last check up should have happened roughly eight minutes ago.

Heero peeked over the corner and watched the hall as he heard or seen nothing so he continued his way to cell block A2. He approached the dark cell and retrieved the key that he had taken from a now dead soldier.

The door opened up quickly and Heero crept in silently. He immediately heard labored breathing and his eyes narrowed as he spotted a huddled figure in the far left corner of the block.

"Pilot 02, status!" He whispered sternly. There was no response and his features hardened. Blue eyes concentrated on the immobile figure as he moved closer, running his gaze over the battered body as he rested on his side.

"Duo?"

He noticed movement and called again.

"No, I… won't..." The brunet was confused but he quickly approached the dazed pilot.

"Duo! Wake up. Status!" Violet eyes were half lidded and gone to the world.

"Heero...buddy?"

Heero sighed in relief and whispered yes. He tried to help him up but the other man flinched and yelped out in excruciating pain. Duo had been beaten severely.

"I need you to hold out."

"They fucked me up...pretty badly." Duo forced out of his dry mouth.

Heero pulled out a syringe and gave Duo a very strong pain killer that took effect immediately.

"Let's go." Strong arms slid around the weakened pilot's waist and hauled him over to the exit. He could feel the blood and grim on the others body; the torn clothing hanging off of his scrawny figure. Heero wasted no more time as he pulled out a detonating device and placed his thumb readily on the red button.

"Ready?" He asked.

"Mmm-hmm." Duo was definitely out of it.

A string of bombs went off and caused enough of a distraction for Heero and the injured braided boy to escape without incident.

* * *

"Baka!" Heero said in frustration as he stormed out of the room.

"Heero! Heero, damn it! I want some sugar! That's all I ask for!" The braided pilot grumbled to himself as he stared at the full bowl of cereal that Heero especially bought for him. Surprisingly, the wing pilot was back and with the sugar that he requested.

"Aw, thanks buddy! I knew there was a reason why I liked ya!" Heero set the sugar down on the side table and backed away to his own bed.

"I see no advantage as to having you here. There was no purpose to save you... I am _not _your slave." Duo could not help but listen to his partner's brooding monolog.

"Sure there is. There's just no other person you can trust fully in the line of combat. There is no one else that has the superior hacking abilities as Shinigami does and you know it. I am vital to his war and I have a purpose to live through it." He took a minute to gobble up the rest of his sugar-enhanced cereal and sighed happily as it filled his empty tummy with that lovely touch of sweetness.

"You also said that I couldn't leave bed until my leg was stable enough to walk on because of the fracture." Heero huffed.

"I know what I said." He frowned. "I take it back. You can do whatever you want. Just never let my name, or anything referring to me leave your lips."

Heero's glare intensified on the injured pilot, who was just staring at him innocently with those big violet eyes. Once he felt it was clear, he stood up and made his way out of the room, saying in his usual monotone voice, "I'm going to go check the perimeter's status."

Duo was grinning at Heero's back the whole way and shouted as loud as he dared,

"OK HEEEEEE-CHAAAANNNNN! MY MAN YUY KNOWS WHAT TO DO! KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK!" He saw the pilots back stiffen in what he probably could make a bet that many "I will kill you's" were going through his head. "I'll just stay right here and rest like the good ol' Dr. Heero told me too." He snuggled into his bed as he heard stomping feet race down the steps and harsh mutterings in Japanese.

* * *


	4. Enticing Attraction

Disclaimer: Duo Maxwell, Heero Yuy and all other Gundam Wing characters belong to Bandai.

Gundam Wing

**_Days Gone By..._**

"Oi, Heero!" Duo yelled.

"DUO!"

The braided pilot jumped, startled and lost his footing and his balance from the spot on Deathsycthe's arm. His arms began flaying to keep himself from falling to his death, but they were not quiet succeeding in their actions.

"Aaaahhhhh!"

He felt himself fall towards the ground but suddenly a strong arm reached down and caught his right arm. Duo looked down at the ground and where his body would have been if his savior hadn't rescued him.

Amethyst orbs looked up into glaring cobalt as he felt the man above him haul his ass back onto the hard gundamium arm.

Duo took in a deep breath of the fresh hot air and smiled sheepishly at his partner.

"Ah, thanks man." Heero just crouched down to the open panel he was working on before and started to connect some wires. Duo frowned upon this as he remembered _why_ and _how_ this incident had occurred.

"Heero, man what gives!? Why did you scare me like that?" Duo put his best glare and stood akimbo, one hip jutting out more to his left.

The other pilot stopped and brought his arm up to wipe the perspiration off of his forehead before he stood and counter-glared at the baka standing in front of him.

"There was no need to shout my name when I was but a foot away from you, so I yelled back." With that said the brunet just went back to work and left his partner jaw-slacked.

"Well! I thought you decided to work on the problem further down the arm and I didn't know at you were right behind me. Damn you're quiet. You should talk more or at least make some damn noise."

Duo knelt down and tried to pick up back where he left off but then realized what he had called Heero for in the first place.

"Ah…eh, pass me the drill, will ya, buddy?"

There was nothing said in response to his request but he soon found a black drill in his hands and then he went on to work quietly…

"Aaaawwwww, damn sun… It's too freakin' hot to be doing this crap. I think we should be swimming like normal kids would be doing right now. This is so frustrating and this damn control relay box won't. Budge!"

Duo pulled with all his strength but could not get the damn thing out. He finally heard a sigh and Heero stood up, discarding his green tank top, which was soaked in sweat and marched over to Duo to analyze his problem.

"Let me see if I can pull it out." Duo moved backwards, his eyes drifting down Heero's lean, muscular torso and just the way those muscles flexed and called Duo to…

The braided boy shook his head of the crazy thoughts that just entered his mind.

"Woah, that was weird." He said solely to himself. Putting his mind back to their current problem, Duo pumped out in a sing-song voice,

"Hee-man, made of steel and can lift a mobile suit with one hand will save the day!" But as he said this, he noticed that the said pilot was also having difficulties with the part. The muscles were straining and quivering on the slick, tanned skin and once Heero stopped, Duo gulped and took in a breath that he realized he had been holding.

"Listen," Heero said as he turned around to look at the braided pilot sitting with his legs crossed and his attention all focused on the tanned god…

_'Where the hell did that thought come from?'_

"We're going to try together. I'm going to resume this position and you are going to put your feet on either side of the panel and take hold of this piece and pull towards me. Understand?"

Duo nodded enthusiastically. "Alright, Deahtsycthe baby! We're going to fix you up and you will be able to use that right hand." Duo got into place but took off his faded blue shirt and threw it behind him. His own pale-like skin glistening in the sunlight and he stretched his arms before bending over and suddenly stared into deep blue eyes. "Ah, heh," Duo mumbled stupidly as he continue to stay just inches away from the shaggy haired pilot. "Stupid shield-equipped Leos cutting me up with that stupid little beamsaber."

"Come on." Heero broke the stare and got into position as did his partner and Duo just gulped and gripped onto where Heero had said. "On three. One. Two. Three!"

Heero and Duo started to pull simultaneously, using all their strength. Duo pulled with his arms and legs as Heero also used his powerful legs to try to yank out the metal part. Muscles straining and grunts were heard as Duo then started to yell as he pulled, putting his all into it and Heero joined in and finally the piece jerked out, causing Heero and Duo to loose their stability. Heero fell back, his naked back hitting the hot surface of Deathscythe's arm and falling right on top of him was Duo, grunting on impact.

"Uhh," Duo opened his eyes to stare down at Heero, who was catching his breath for a moment before he looked up at Duo. Duo blushed as he felt himself fully flushed up against his partner, knowing that those powerful thighs were on either side of his hips.

_'Ohmigod! Where are these thoughts coming from?'_

"Uh, thanks man! We got it out. Man that was a tight fit. They must've shoved that thing in…" Duo's blush deepened as he realized what he was saying. He quickly pushed himself up from Heero and laughed in embarrassment but they continued working well into the night.

* * *


	5. Invitation

Disclaimer: Duo Maxwell, Heero Yuy and all other Gundam Wing characters belong to Bandai.

Gundam Wing

**_Days Gone By..._**

Heero finished his shower after Duo, who had taken over a half hour to clean up. He sighed as he looked at himself in the mirror that was hanging over the sink. The steam from the hot shower had fogged the mirror and he reached over to wipe away the water but only managed to get a blurry image of him self.

_'What had happened today?'_

After that little incident where they had lost their balance, some how his thoughts focused on Duo, hoping that he was okay, wanting to flip them over and just run his hands over him to make sure that he was alright.

But that wasn't the only thing that crossed his mind when he thought of running his hands over him… taking his clothes off and checking…

Heero shook his head. What the hell was happening to him and where the hell had these thoughts come from? The feel of that hot, naked chest, slick with sweat and knowing whose it was, stirred an unknown emotion inside of him, making his stomach do several flip-flops.

_'Stop, Heero. These are irrelevant thoughts. No need to further dwell on them.' _

With that thought settled, he quickly opened the door and ran smack dab into the man of his thoughts.

Duo was falling away from him and with his quick reflexes, a strong arm snaked its way around the narrow waist of the stunned pilot 02.

"Hee…" Duo's voice seemed to cut off as he realized he was flush up against his ally and looking into bottomless cobalt blues.

"Are you ok?" Heero asked, realizing that he had a very steady hold of the braided boy and knowing that his body was sucking up the warmth that was radiating off of Duo. He released his hold and took a small step back.

"Yeah!" He seemed to snap out of his reverie. There was a small silence as they stared at each other and then a beeping noise was piercing their ears.

"Phone call, Duo…" Duo stared at Heero and jumped back and turned to run into the bedroom; a perfect escape from the awkward moment that he found himself in at that moment.

Heero found himself following him and changing in the room while he heard Quatre happy voice greeting Duo enthusiastically.

"Q-man! How's it going?"

"Everything is very well here, and the party preparations and underway too."

Duo frowned.

"Party?"

Quatre smiled widely and crossed his hands on top of the desk.

"Yes, a party for all my close friends, which includes you and Heero. It would be such an honor to see you guys… I miss you all too."

Quatre was never one to hold back his feelings. Duo smiled that full out smile and nodded his head quickly.

"Of course, Quatre! We would love to go. Wouldn't we Heero?" Duo turned in his chair and stared off screen to where Heero was sitting on his bed.

Heero nodded and stood, walking to Duo's side.

"I would like to attend, Quatre. How is Trowa doing?" There was a small blush that appeared on the blond's cheeks.

"Trowa is-"

"I am very well, my friends." Trowa stepped in behind Quatre and bent down to stare into the vid screen. Duo was smiling, eyeing his blond friend while Heero was nodding at Trowa.

"So when is the party, Quatre?" Heero asked as he returned his gaze to the blond.

"It will be in three weeks from Saturday. I hope you all can attend. I will be on earth so you don't have to travel to L4. I will be at my ski resort in Aspen, Colorado." Duo's eyes widen.

"Ski?" Duo questioned and Quatre beamed.

"Yes, we can all go skiing. It will be fun!"

"It will be cold!" Duo shivered.

"You're not afraid of the cold are you?" Heero teased uncharacteristically. Duo shot a look at him and grinned.

"Shinigami is afraid of nothing!" Quatre and Trowa smiled.

"Wufei is coming along with Sally."

"Ooohhhh, Sally? When does Wuffy come with anyone?" Duo started to laugh at that the evil thoughts he would do to torture the poor Chinese pilot.

"We will be there Quatre."

Quatre hurriedly put in. "I will send a jet to pick you up, where is the closes airport to you?"

Duo was grinning like mad. He told him quickly and they chatted a few more minutes before wrapping everything up.

"Heero, Duo, remember the jet will be there at one in the afternoon. I look forward to seeing you all. Goodbye Heero and Duo."

"Thanks Quatre, Trowa. I do look forward to see you too." Heero said politely.

Trowa nodded.

"I too. Goodbye."

The connection was cut and Duo was grinning and Heero looked at him warily.

"What is it?" Heero just had to asked as Duo shook his head and grabbed the shaggy haired pilot by the shoulders, leading him out of the room.

"I'm famished! Let's eat!"

"Glutton…" Heero said lowly but nevertheless, smiled lightly at Duo's addictive cheerfulness.

* * *


	6. A Turn for the Worst

Disclaimer: Duo Maxwell, Heero Yuy and all other Gundam Wing characters belong to Bandai.

Gundam Wing

_**Days Gone By...**_

"Listen," Heero said carefully as he stared at a much damaged gundam and an almost unconscious pilot. "Can you make it to the safe house?" The braided pilot just stared at the screen walking his gundam slowly. If he didn't respond, he was going to have to resort to calling one of the other pilots to help him out. There were no other enemies. Heero knew how many mobile suits were at this base, and even when they destroyed parts of the base that held the suits, there were more elsewhere and they got surrounded. Heero was a bad case of injuries and he knew he would spend much time on his gundam but Duo… He was injured far worse and his gundam was almost out for the count.

He opted for another solution. Wing Zero stepped in front of the staggering gundam and stopped it from advancing forward.

"Duo! Can you hear me?"

Violet eyes glanced wearily to the screen, blood running over one eye.

"H-Hee…chan…"

A bad, bad concussion…Heero thought as he noticed a broken panel hanging loosely from above the braided boy's head.

"Duo," He said more softly. "I'm going to into flight mode and you are going to grab onto Wing, ok? We'll fly back to the safe house and get you cleaned up." Heero was worried beyond that he thought he was ever capable of. Duo was taking a long time to acknowledge that fact.

"O-k" He drawled.

"Transforming." Heero's gundam began to go into bird mode. "Duo, jump up now and grab onto Wing." He watched Duo carefully as he made for his gundam to do a small hop to catch that one piece he could hang on to but Duo miscalculated the jump and ended up smashing into the hovering gundam.

"Duo!" The shaggy haired brunet yelled as he watched Duo yelp in pain as sparks flew but the hand of the gundam found what it wanted to hang from and Heero winced but quickly adjusted his controls for the impacted and the sudden weight added. He finally took off, wanting to get back to their place as quickly as possible but not wanting to go so fast by the chance the Deathscythe might slip off.

Almost twenty minutes later, Heero found himself lowering the other gundam to the ground of their hideout. He transformed back and hid his gundam at the appropriate spot and quickly scrambled out of Wing to get to Duo. It was a little difficult but he climbed up the gundam and banged on the hatch.

"DUO! DUO OPEN UP!" He yelled and suddenly there was a hiss as the hatch did just that. Heero jumped inside noticing the damage was far worse than what the camera had let on. Fried wires were dangling from overhead, broken glass from one of the screens, just so many problems and damage the gundam's cockpit hand taken on and the outside didn't look any better.

Hands flew out and unbuckled the harness from the hunched over pilot and Heero picked him up and sat in the seat with Duo sprawled over him. He had to hide the gundam correctly then he could get Duo the proper care that he needed. Heero took over the controls with the immobile body on top of him and knelt the gundam down and besides his own. Once everything was shut down, he turned Duo around where his shoulder was in Heero's chest and to where Heero was able to gather the boy's legs and brought him up in his arms.

Before moving, Heero had to make sure that he had his footing. Yes, he was injured but not as badly as his partner. He was tired but he still needed to take care of him and make sure that he gets better.

Crouching, almost, he stepped out of the cockpit and was able to stand straight with his load. He placed Duo's feet on the ground and swung Duo's left arm over his shoulder while Heero's strong arm was secure at his back, keeping him upright and tightly against his body. Knowing that the pilot wasn't going to fall, Heero gathered the wire, put his foot at the end and started to lower himself and Duo to the ground. It was a little difficult but nothing was going to make him drop the boy in his arms.

Safely on the ground, Wing's pilot gathered up the unconscious boy and ran to the house as fast as his legs would take him. He held Duo tightly so he wouldn't injure him further with his running but the braided baka was in need of medical attention right away and Heero was going to make sure that he was going to get it.

Hours later, Duo was all cleaned up and tucked away in his bed resting. He would be fine and Heero would be also. While he still had the medical kit and such out, he treated and dressed his own wounds while he kept an eye on Duo. It would be a while before he could go out on a mission but Heero would just take them and accomplish them on his own. Heero found himself rechecking the bandages, making sure that there wasn't any exceeding blood from the worst wounds and once Heero sat down, he realized that he had yet to leave the other boy's side since they arrived.

_'How could this mission have gone so wrong? The calculations were correct and we scooped the entire base. How could we have missed those extra suits?'_

Frustration grew and showed on the tired pilot's face. His eyes rimmed red and his skin paled.

"Hee…" Cobalt eyes snapped to Duo's face. Eyes shut and mouth slightly opened, Heero waited for another response…

_'Maybe you're starting to think you heard his voice. You need to go to sleep, Yuy.' _

Heero scowled at himself for having to rest. There was much to do and his body couldn't do it all at once. He was about to stand when a small voice spoke up again.

"Hee-"

"Duo? Don't talk. Go to sleep. You were injured in our last mission." He stated and there was a small nod from the teen on the bed.

"You need… rest. Rest… 'Ro." And with that, Duo was out only leaving his partner staring at him.

"You rest too." And as he moved over to his own bed, he whispered to the unconscious body on the other side of the room, "Thank you, Duo… for watching my back."


	7. Even the Perfect Solider Can Have Fun

**__**__Gundam Wing

**_Days Gone By..._**

"WOOOOOHOOOOOO! YEA! Come on, Heero! You can do it. Ha haaaa! And I thought you could do everything Mr. Perfect Solider!"

Heero was having a difficult time skiing down the slop and had several accidents along the way. Duo got the hang of skiing quickly and was showing off the skills he acquired over the small time that they were at Quatre's resort.

"Kuso…" Heero murmured angrily as he was starting to get the hang of it but just couldn't quit get it. He figured the more he glared at the equipment the better it would be cooperative… but that was not the case.

Everyone they trusted during the war was there. Sally Po, who was currently teasing Wufei about his Nataku snowman, was happy to see that everyone was okay. It seemed as though she was keeping tabs on the Chinese warrior. It was a curious thought of how long they kept in touch during the war and its quiet times.

Quatre and Trowa were going down the gentle slops side by side. It seemed as though they were having a nice conversation and keeping each other much wanted and pleasant company.

All in all, everyone was having fun and it was a vacation that was to be yearned by all. But that didn't mean that Mr. Duo Maxwell was going to go easy on anyone for the braided teen had much hidden up his sleeve.

Out of the corner of his eye, Duo watched as Wufei and Sally were talking and he stopped by in front of Heero to tease him.

"What's wrong there, buddy? Can't get the hang of it?" Heero only frowned at him and glared at the ski equipment.

"Perhaps mine is defective and does not grip the snow well." Duo busted out laughing and this only made Heero glare at him.

"Hee-chan. There is no grip that the bottom of the skis. It's all balance and the movement. If anything they wax the bottom of the skis to make them slicker." Heero picked up his boot and analyzed the ski while Duo bent down to make a snowball and threw it at Wufei. It landed directly on the teen's face and a yelp was heard.

"Hey Heero, Wufei is looking at you."

Poor Heero was still upset about his skis but he turned his glare over to Wufei and when they locked eyes, Wufei called out the death of Heero.

"What? What is he talking about, Duo?" When he turned to see Duo, the baka was laughing his ass off on the ground and Heero finally made the connection. "You threw that snow ball at him and now he's after me. Well I'll just make sure he knows who really did it."

Duo could not stop laughing and had gathered tears at the corners of his squinted purple eyes.

"He...won't, hahahahaha, believe you." Duo did another round of laughter as the Chinese man stalked over to the two. All Heero did was gather up a large... gigantic snowball and held it out to Wufei. He pointed to Duo and Wufei saw the laughing pilot and right then and there, it all clicked. Wufei grinned and carefully took the snowball and with a windup, threw the snowball at Duo's face. The ball was almost the size of his face but it hit him dead on and Duo went flying backwards and did a side roll. This earned everyone to stop and laugh at the braided teen frantically wiping his face and spitting out snow.

"Hey! How could you? I didn't do it!"

"I swear, Maxwell, you are an injustice to all!"

Quatre and Trowa decided to go near the commotion and snickered at Wufei's remark.

"It wasn't me!" Duo tried to plead but the Chinese pilot would have none of it.

"And to what purpose would it serve Yuy to throw a snowball at me?" Wufei glared, but a joyous light shined in his eyes.

"The same reason anyone would throw a snowball at you. Because you're you, Wuffy Chang!"

Wufei glared and Quatre and Sally laughed out loud.

No one saw it coming because they all felt that the two would-be pranksters were insight. Duo didn't see a tight, compacted snowball fly towards him. Didn't know that it would be snowball number two to hit his cold red face… but it did and he fell back with an "umph!" Neither did the poor Wufei know that a quick snowball followed up and hit him on the other side of his face.

Heero had snuck away without anyone noticing and hide by a shed. He gathered up a small mound of snowball ammunition and was ready to fight. He grinned and threw another at Trowa, hitting him on the shoulder and got the retreating Sally and Quatre in the back.

Duo was the first to recover at the assault and yelled at Heero,

"What the hell was that for?" Duo growled as he tried to scramble away to safety and quickly glanced to see another snowball fly his way. He dove into the ground and the ball missed him by inches.

Everyone heard it but couldn't believe it. Heero was laughing and hiding behind that secure wall gave him a light of innocence and the fun that they should be having at that age. To them all, it didn't look like a bunch of soldiers taking a well rested vacation before going out to kill again. They all seemed like regular kids having an enjoyable time and that was what started the snowball war between the pilots. It was fun and they didn't have any other care in the world at that moment but getting even with Heero.

"Heero!" Sally yelled from behind another tree across the way from the 01 pilot. "I'm so going to get you and shove this snowball down your throat!"

Wufei tried to creep behind Heero but another snowball hit him in the back of the head.

"Do you really think I'm going to let you have the first hit on him?" Duo yelled as he ran behind several trees with an arm full of snowballs. Before Wufei could respond, he got hit with another on his shoulder and he dove behind a tree.

"Why are you attacking ME!? This is INJUSTICE!" Wufei peaked from behind the tree to see where that snowball hand came from and was shocked.

"Onna!? Why would you assault me and not the one who started it?" He yelled and watched out carefully as snowballs began flying.

"Well I thought Duo's reason was pretty good! You're not going to get that first hit!"

Heero had the best spot. There was a shed behind him and some equipment off to the side that helped him gather cover. He hadn't gotten hit once and from the way things were going, he was going to come out with no hits at all. He grinned and started whipping the snowballs where Quatre and Trowa were. He got someone's leg and so far, gotten everyone with two, three or more hits.

"Trowa, Heero is not getting hit at all." Trowa tossed a snowball at Heero like a grenade but most likely, it didn't land on him. He looked up to see a ledge of snow hanging over the wing pilot and smiled.

"Quatre, call a truce to the other pilots and tell them to pass the word along." Azure eyes stared up into emerald questioningly.

"Why would we do that?"

After Trowa explained, and ducking for cover several times, he called over to Sally and she 'eeped' in glee as she told Wufei and he told Duo. They stopped throwing snowballs at each other and saw several fly from Heero's direction.

Heero looked out and stopped throwing.

_'Why did they stop?' _He wondered. There was something going on but he didn't know what they were planning.

_'It's got to be a plan…'_ But as he tried to take a few seconds to figure it out, a barrage of snowballs came flying at him. He ducked behind his wall and smiled,

"There's no way you guys can get me back here!" He yelled smugly. Something registered in his head that the snowballs were not hitting his wall or the outer parts of it. They were aimed high and when he looked up, he finally knew what they had planned.

_'Uh oh…'_

And in a last ditch effort to escape, Heero tried to dive away but there was too much snow hanging over the roof and it all collapsed on top of him.

Duo was next to Sally and gave her a high five!

"Yesss! Awesome plan Tro!" They all trudged over there and found that Heero half succeeded in digging himself out. He was covered from head to toe in snow and his face was red with cold. He seemed at first angry but the happiness in his eyes gave away that it was all in good fun.

"We got you bad!" Duo ruffled Heero's hair, snow sprinkling around his head in a light mist.

"Yea you did. I did not even to think about the overhanging snow. But I still win."

Sally put her hands on her hips.

"How do you figure? You were drenched in snow!" They all laughed and Quatre made the point for Heero.

"He got us all several times, I think. I know he got me three times."

"Yea, you all just ganged up on me." Heero retorted as he was trying to brush all the snow off of his hair and face.

"I think we should go in and have some hot chocolate. I'm getting cold out here." Sally suggested and Quatre backed her up on that thought.

"That's a wonderful idea, Sally." They all began trudging toward the lodge with Heero and Duo bringing up the rear.

"That was fun! But you only got me twice, Heero." His amethyst gaze was received as a small challenge to Heero, unbeknownst to the braid teen.

"Heh, that is still two for me and none for you." Heero was trying the skis again but fell and Duo laughed.

"You are never going to get it! You're just too clumsy!" Duo walked away from Heero and put his hands behind his head.

"I can finally say that I beat you at something! And you are not better than I at skiing. Oh yea!"

Heero took the skis off and walked up behind Duo.

"Well that still makes me three snowballs higher than you." Duo stopped and tilted his head.

"Three? You only had-" Heero jerked back the back collar of Duo's jacket and shoved the snowball inside, right against his hot skin.

Duo screamed and Heero began running away, laughing while a squirming Duo pursued him.  
"Oh MY GOD! That is cold! You are sooo DEAD! HEERO! You hear me!? DEAD! I'm gonna 'OMAE O KOROSU' YOUR ASS!!!"

* * *


	8. Just a Little Bit of Everything

Gundam Wing

**Days Gone By...**

**Just A Little Bit of Everything:**

"It's been very nice spending a long relaxing vacation with you, little one."

Quatre blushed as he leaned against the window in the small library room.

"Yes." The blond said content at the scenery and wonderful company. "It has been nice since we had our last mission, Trowa. But I am very happy that our friends can join us during this period of tranquility."

Suddenly Quatre felt a hard body press up against him from behind and the short blond gasped.

"Trowa!" He gasped in a shaky whisper. He could hear the brunet chuckle lightly.

"Do you remember what happened last week?"

Quatre closed his eyes. How could he forget? Trowa kissed him for so long, holding him and caressing his body with soft and tender touches.

"I do." Quatre breathed against the glass, still having Trowa behind him. Lips brushed his neck and the brunet surrounded Quatre with his strong arms. Those hands slid down Quatre's shoulders to his forearms and around his waist. Trowa's lips nibbled and sucked lightly on the sensitive skin and the Sandrock pilot was reduced to mush.

"Oh...Trowa..."

Quatre turned around and stared into Trowa's lusty gaze. They leaned in close, feeling the heat of their breath on each others lips when Quatre's computer began beeping... It took a moment as he realized that something was wrong and he regretfully pulled out of Trowa's warm embrace and jogged to his computer."**Perimeter Breached!"** flashed angrily on his screen and Quatre brought the camera, that caught the movement, up. Several mobile suits were hiding by the trees in the small forest behind the lodge.

Blue eyes darted up to stare into serious green ones.

"It's OZ. They're here."

"We only have our gundams."

"Yes, but Heero, Wufei and the others must be warned."

Rasid entered the room in haste.

"Pardon me, Master Quatre, but there has been a breach."

Quatre nodded.

"Please warn the gundam pilots of this and please make sure that the civilians are escorted to safety."

Trowa started out the door and Quatre jogged over to him to follow.

"Right away, Master Quatre."

Both pilots were racing to the hanger by the time Rasid turned around.

* * *

"OH! You think that you're going to get away with something like that? I still haven't forgotten about the snowball!"

Duo was standing angrily over Heero as the Wing pilot was on his laptop.

"Listen, Duo. I told you that I was going to be deleting that game from MY laptop and so now it is gone."

The braided pilot had his hands formed in tight fists and he was burning holes at the top of Heero's head.

"Oh, come on, Heero! That game only used up like one megabyte of information on your laptop! Your laptop is like two computers in one little thing! What do you need that kind of space for and what does it matter if it is one little" Duo put his thumb and pointer finger almost together with just a small amount of space separating them, "Icon that is on your desktop?"

Heero almost smirked to himself but didn't and just continued to stare at his laptop, cleaning his hard drive.

"Well?"

"I don't like to be cluttered with nonsense." Heero said simply.

Duo pushed Heero back to click on his own folder that Heero let him have on the laptop.

"Look!" Duo said as he glared and shook Heero. "You said I could have my own folder!"

Heero finally let a smirk slip by and Duo noticed with widened eyes.

"Yes, I did. I said that the folder was for your work."

Duo's face suddenly grew so red, he look like he was ready to explode.

"Oh my god, you think this is funny? I was sooo far in that game! So far and so many hours now gone to waste! How could you?" Duo's face grew solemn and his voice dropped down to death. "This means war, Yuy."

Heero sighed and with three strategic hits of his keyboard, a game popped up playing a catchy tune.

"There Duo, you can continue playing your game." The short haired teen let out a small chuckle as his partner's jaw hit the floor.

"You…you…" Duo glared full out. "You made me have a heart attack when you never even erased it?"

That was it as Duo couldn't resist himself any longer. He wrapped his arm around Heero's neck and started to give him a nuggie when Heero turned around and tried to flip Duo over. The braided pilot countered it somehow and managed to bring them both to the ground in a tangled heap. They struggled against each other to get the upper hand and Duo could not help but laugh.

"Jeeze Heero, ahahahaha, you're so going to get it!" Duo said as he had Heero forced down from behind with his hands placed firmly on the back of Heero's head and his forearms holding Heero's upper arms back. Heero was immobile for a second before he swiped Duo's legs from beneath him and they crashed to the floor.

"Duo!" Heero yelled as he flipped them to where he was on top of Duo. He straddled the other pilot's hips and held his arms down but Duo's long legs reached up from behind Heero and hooked themselves around Heero's torso and pushed the wing pilot on his back and Duo rose up to try to hold Heero down. His legs were on top of the other man's legs as his hands were pinning his wrists.

Both pilot's were panting and glaring at each other with humor.

"You think you can hold me down? Do you, Duo?" Heero grinned and that was the time for Duo to frown but then he returned the grin.

"Bring it on!"

Seconds later, Heero found himself rolling around on the carpeted floor with Duo, wrestling and fighting over who would finally be on top. Duo managed to get Heero beneath him but the short-haired brunet smiled and said that he was too weak. Duo yelled at him and at that moment, Heero bucked his hips and flipped them and had the Deathscythe pilot beneath him once again. It seemed that Heero was winning because he successfully pinned Duo down again with his hips holding down Duo's own hips and his legs lying on top of Duo's shins. Heero was holding Duo's wrists above his head and was practically lying on top of the braided boy.

"You give up?" Heero asked as his face was inches away from Duo's. He could feel his captive's hot breath on his lips.

"In your dreams." Duo whispered and continued to glare but his violet gaze suddenly shifted to the man's lips and Heero felt Duo's body stop straining and realized the position that they were in. Both their bodies grew extremely hot and now cobalt and amethyst eyes were staring at each other with questions and wonders; lingering thoughts and feelings. Heero's face was so close to Duo's that he was swallowing his breath, breathing it in, almost tasting the man below him and Duo was feeling the same. They didn't know what they were doing, but they didn't care because at that moment, the distance was their only real obstacle.

"Heero…" His lips moved and barely touched the dry lips above his own but they did and Heero moved down a fraction of an inch more and they were kissing so lightly. Their eyes fluttered shut as they pushed harder against the other but sudden stomping coming down the hallway caught their attention and they pulled away just in time to see their bedroom door fly open. They were most definitely caught in a compromising position but Rasid, who coughed at that moment, knew of the sudden relationships springing on as he had almost interrupted his Master Quatre and his guest, Trowa…

"Sorry to interrupt you so abruptly, Duo and Heero, but the perimeter has been breached and Master Quatre has ordered me to inform you and the other gundam pilots that there are enemy suits heading this way. Miss Sally and Wufei have gone down to the hanger."

Duo and Heero were already up from the floor and running for the door. Heero stopped in front of Rasid.

"How do we get to the hangar?"

Rasid pointed down the hall.

"Take that elevator and punch in 34638751 and that will take you down to the hangar."

Both pilot's nodded and ran to the elevator. The door 'binged' open and Heero was inside first, already punching in the code. The doors closed and silence filled the air between them. They didn't know what was going on or what the circumstances were. They were wondering how they were going to beat them, how many soldiers were there?

When they finally got down to the hanger, Sally was waiting to get into the elevator.

"Where were you two? I was about to go up there and get you."

Duo sweatdropped but Heero was not affected and quickly questioned her.

"What is the status?"

Sally started to run toward Wufei and Duo and Heero were hot on her heals.

"Wufei said that Trowa and Quatre are outside fighting in their gundams."

"Where are the other suits?" Heero said, loud enough for Wufei to hear.

"They told us to stay where we are and that they can handle the fight. There aren't many suits out there and they were just passing through. I do not think they were expecting a battle."

Duo sighed in relief but Heero rushed over to the computer and watched the battle unfold. Heero watched as Heavyarms retracted its blade and quickly spun around to gut the mobile suit that was getting to close to him. Both gundams were watching the other's back. Sandrock was straying away because the two suits that he was battling kept backing away from him. Something must have been said between the two pilots because instead of Sandrock following the enemy, he took his place from before, behind Heavyarms and fired the vulcan's on his head. A barrage of bullets flew toward his enemies.

After Heero inspected the battle, he turned away to the adjacent computer to check their stats.

"They will be fine. I don't think there is anything to worry about although, I think it might have been smarter to let the suits walk by." Heero said as he typed away at the computer. His topic did concern that of OZ.

"Why would you just let them walk by?" Sally asked behind him.

"Because now they know that something is up around this area and now we will not be able to relax any longer. But did you do a scan of the area? Are you positive that they were the only suits heading in this direction?" Heero asked. Sally shook her head.

"No, we didn't do that yet. When we got here, Quatre was in trouble and we were focused on the fight."

"Ah, it's no biggie. Q & T got this covered." Duo said as he continued to watch as Trowa used an assault of missiles from his legs to strike down the remaining few threatening suits.

"Good." Heero said after a moment.

"What is good, Yuy?" Wufei asked as he walked over to Heero and read the report over his shoulder.

"This was just an assignment for Oz to scout the area with their novice soldiers. But it would be a wise move for us to leave here when they find out that they have been attacked by gundams. We need to hurry up and leave here as soon as their fight is over." Heero said. He glanced at the screen. "It seems like the battle is done."

A loud hissing sound was heard and they all turned to face the west wall where it opened up and two large gundams made their way inside. They both knelt down and out came Trowa and Quatre.

"Be prepared to depart in ten minutes." Heero said as he headed towards the elevator.

"Awesome fighting out there, Quatre! Those were some cool moves with your little blade, Tro! But I guess our vacation is over so we gotta move or Oz will be on our ass over here!" Duo said as he was walking behind Heero but stopped.

"Heero? What will we do if they decide to attack the resort?" Duo asked but Heero didn't say anything and ran after Heero.

"Heero!" The elevator dinged and Heero grabbed the braided pilot and pushed him into the elevator.

"We need to leave now. I also read that they are surrounding our hideout because someone said they witnessed a large bird-like machine landing near it."

Duo eyes widened.

"Someone saw you parking Wing? Damn... And my vacation was just getting good." Duo whined softly. A blush then over-came his face knowing that the vacation was only getting good because of Heero, and Duo was sure Heero heard his mumbling. He glanced over to the shaggy haired pilot but his handsome face was set and showed nothing that he had heard Duo's statement.

Duo then shook his head and at the same moment the elevator dinged to announce that they were on the requested floor. He watched as Heero fled the elevator and Duo was on his heals.

_'I should have known that he wouldn't change... I don't know if he even realizes what we just did. Keh, I'm always going after impossible dreams...' _

Duo shook his head. He had no time to worry about his love life, as crazy as it is. He had to hurry and get back to their hideout to make sure that OZ didn't steal their gundams.

Duo grabbed his black duffle bag and began to throw in all his clothes from his dresser drawer... even though most of his clothes were strewn over a chair that he was too lazy to put away.

Heero was at his laptop and was quickly hitting the keys to bring up his security system. The Wing pilot had several cameras in the perimeter of their gundams and established a connection to see if there was an activity near the gundams now.

"Nothing..." He said mostly to himself.

"What's Nothing, Heero?" Duo asked as he grabbed Heero's duffle bag and tossed it on the bed. He grabbed for Heero's things while the other pilot closed his laptop so he can grab his belongings to leave.

"There's any OZ activity near our gundams, yet. I'm not sure when they will get there but we need some equipment before just storming into our base."

Duo nodded.

"Ok, just get whatever else you got here other than your clothes. I got those already." Duo said as he was putting in the last of Heero's clothing into the black bag."

"Thanks." Heero said and Duo smiled softly.

"No problem, buddy. I'm going to go track Quatre down so I can get our jet ready and get some supplies. I'm off." Duo took off running but was jerked back immediately.

"Heero, what the hell?" Duo called out, surprised. He turned his head quickly, his braid whipped around his body as fast as he spun and stared at Heero's blue eyes that were on him intently.

"Hey man, what gives?" Duo asked again but stopped when he noticed that Heero had something to say... Something other than dealing with the mission...he hoped.

"Duo... I'm sorry that we didn't get to finish our vacation. I know you were having fun and I was also. Perhaps... we could continue the fun aspect of it when we are not busy..."

A wide grin formed on Duo's lips that he could not help but let go. He understood the meaning of what Heero was saying but the words were just replaying in his head, almost like he didn't believe in what the other man was saying. But he did understand it. He understood it well and there was no way that he was refusing an offer like that.

"Great, Heero! As soon as all this crap is done and over with, we'll get back to having _all_ the **fun** we want!" He watched as Heero blinked and almost laughed when a small blushed adorned the brunet's features but Duo turned away and ran with a wide and pure genuine smile on his face. It was a smile (and a feeling) that he hadn't had in a very long time.

* * *


	9. Not Alone

Not Alone

Heero was awakened by something but he wasn't quite sure. Usually he slept lightly so that he could pinpoint anything that's amiss. Heero sat up quietly and strained his ears. His blue eyes peered into the darkness but there was nothing that he could see.

_'Maybe I should check the system. There could be a possible breach.'_ His mind reasoned but then sudden movement from the bed across from him made him stare intently at the body that lay in it. _'Is Duo having night terrors again?'_

At that moment, Duo's body sprang straight up, making Heero's eyes widened in shock. He tried to focus on the braided boy's face but it was just too dark. He was only able to make out his outline but from the sound of it, he was breathing in harshly.

Heero said nothing as he watched the boy climb out of bed and out the bedroom door.

_'That was strange.'_ His mind immediately thought. He was curious about Duo. Everything made him curious about the braided baka and it was unusual of Heero to want to know what made him tick. Seeing Duo so serious or awaken in such a manner made him wonder what could be making the ever cheerful teen so restless?

He got up from his own bed and crept down the stairs and secretly searched for him. Using his stealthy skills, Heero hugged the wall and listened carefully for any sounds. Duo was very good a being sneaky, so he just had to be better.

He spied into the bathroom, no sign there. Then he peaked into the living room and nothing. He remembered the one night he walked up on Duo in the kitchen but the braided boy wasn't there either.

Heero's brows furrowed. There were only a few other places left that he could think Duo could have gone but all those places were outside.

Heero's barely audible footsteps made it to the front door and he was right, it was unlocked.

_'Why would he be outside?'_ Heero's mind worked. The shaggy-haired brunet was also getting a little worried but and a little worrying to Heero was very bothersome. He took a step outside and scanned the area. Nothing.

The soldier stepped onto the muddy grass, not caring if he did not have any shoes on and made his way towards his and Duo's gundam.

There were not any perimeter breaches and there was nothing unusual about this night, why would Duo want to get up at such an hour? There were nonstop questions about Duo's peculiar actions so Heero, keeping as quiet as he was capable of, dashed over to the gundam hide out and his blue eyes clearly saw the Deathscythe's open hatch.

_'What is he doing?' _

His eyes narrowed and just as he inched closer to the black metal leg of the gundam, he heard a cry from inside.

His heart stopped. Was Duo in danger? Was he injured?

Heero wasted no time and climbed quickly up the gundam and as soon as he stepped onto the hatch, a gun was in his face. Heero stood stock still and raised his hands slowly.

"Duo...it's me, Heero." Heero said as he stared beyond the barrel of the gun and into dull violet eyes. They blinked twice before the gun was lowered and Heero stepped up to Duo, his eyes running over the ruffled sleeping clothing but saw no injuries that would endanger the pilot.

"Status!" Heero said in a commanding note. He wanted to know what was wrong with him but Duo only stared at Heero, his eyes somewhat lifeless.

"What'cha doin' here, Heero?" Duo's voice was low and didn't sound like himself at all.

"I followed you." Heero admitted. He was still waiting for an answer but it seemed like Duo wasn't going to answer so he asked again.

Duo stared at him and it made the hairs on the back of Heero's neck stand.

"I am death." Duo started slowly, his eyes peering from beneath long, dark locks into Heero's confused ones. "I bring death to those around me. They have no chance of surviving when I am there."

Heero blinked, not understanding him and not knowing where all this was coming from. Duo's mind set was somewhere obscured, somewhere desolate where no one was there for him, where everyone feared him. This was not the Duo that he normally saw with the wide grin and large, loving eyes. This Duo was Shinigami, where all the blood of those he'd killed rested and where all his deepest and darkest memories resided. It was like he was dealing with a completely different person.

"But you are Duo Maxwell, who brings smiles to many faces and brings a light into many lives. You are the one who keeps us sane, and reminds Wufei, Trowa, Quatre and I that there is a world out there that isn't all about war. You help us go on, Duo. You help us fight for those people that cannot." Heero said but it wasn't enough and when he realized all that Duo has done for the rest of them, what did they do to keep Duo sane?

"I fought for those people too," Duo backed up and his knees bumped his seat. "I did nothing but murder them. Because I was there, they died and because I'm here, more people die. I am nothing more than death itself."

"So that makes me death also?" Heero questioned. Wasn't it true? He was alive and every mission he completed, there were deaths counted. Duo's eyebrows furrowed.

"You didn't kill your family!" Duo snapped. "You didn't kill the people who had nothing to do with the war!" He yelled in Heero's face. But then his voice changed, it was low and filled with disgust. "You did not lie to them and then let them die alone while abandoning them." Tears slipped down Duo's cheeks but the braided teen continued to glower at Heero. Duo wasn't mad at him, he was mad at himself for being alive. "I don't deserve this life I hold, this body, these hands...they killed so many..." He was breaking and Heero was just staring at him, his heart breaking.

Duo stared down at his pale hands, envisioning the blood that once covered them, but then tanned hands blocked his own and he realized that Heero was mimicking Duo, only his hands were on top of Duo's.

"With these hands of mine, I've killed so many innocent people. The first person I shot was when I was a little boy. I was trained to kill and I was perfect because no one would suspect a young boy would pull out a gun and kill them in cold blood. Whatever the target was, I was there, peering at them behind my gun, finger on the trigger, ready for the shot. These hands have been stained with blood, killing men, women and children alike." Heero stepped closer to Duo and noticed the violet eyes become a little brighter. Hoping Heero was getting through to the other teen, he continued on.

"This little girl and her puppy once gave me a flower for no reason. I didn't understand. She was happy where she was. Her life was filled with joy and not a care in the world. That night, I blew up a base near the place I met her. The explosions misfired and blew the mobile suits into the apartment buildings near it, causing one to fall into the next one, then into the next one. Most of the buildings collapsed and were destroyed. They were all filled with families sleeping, not knowing that it would be their last day of life. That little girl did not know and as I walked through the rubble, I found her puppy...dead.

"Something felt wrong inside of me. I did not know what it was but I was saddened and angered at the war. If this war was over, then there would be no one to kill like I do...But I fight on because I fight for them, I fight to end it for the people who have suffered and to make a future so no one will have to grow up like we have." Heero's eyes were soft and he turned his hands and softly caressed the pale hands that were beneath his own. "I have a purpose, in this life, to end the war. And you have a purpose too. We have to fight together, to be there for each other and our friends to help so this does not happen again."

Duo was quiet as he stared down at the tanned, calloused hands that grabbed and held his own gently.

"But I do nothing but kill."

"That is not true. You bring happiness to us. I've never experienced that before and I thought that emotions were useless, that they only made people weak. I was wrong. These feelings I have realized because of you."

Duo's eyes snapped up to Heero's.

"Because of you, Duo, I have laughed, cried, angered, and felt something completely new. Your comradery means more to me than anyone else in this world. More than that. I..." Heero stopped and blushed. He's never spoken so much at once and never revealed so much to another as he did now. "You bring me to new heights, new challenges and bring new feelings to me every time you open your mouth or do something that's meant to cause a reaction from me. Not only me but I see it in the others too. You are a vital part of us, of me."

Heero was squeezing his hands and Duo groaned in discomfort.

"Gomen." Heero apologized and released Duo's hands. Duo realized that he wasn't the only one facing the demons inside, Heero was standing right there, trying to tell him that they all were there doing the same. It was he who was helping them forget, even if it was for a moment that there was happiness in the world and not just war and death.

Tears fell from his eyes again.

"I've been selfish, Duo. I am very sorry about that."

Duo was confused.

"I have not been there for you like you have for me. The other day, at the hotel..."

Duo blushed. He remembered what happened. How could he not?

"I want to know if that is something that you desire because I would like it too. Something inside of me spread warmth throughout my body and my head felt light. I couldn't control my heart and it was something so simple as our lips touched. But I couldn't think of anything else, Duo. I can't think of anything else when it comes to you. I...I don't know why." Heero said.

Duo couldn't believe what he was saying. He felt all that too. Duo was now well out of his dark reverie and focused onto Heero and all he said.

Heero swallowed. He didn't know if he should be sharing this with the other teen but something made him, wanted him to show Duo that Heero needed him.

"I'm being selfish, I shouldn't need someone else like this, but I do. I've never met anyone like you, Duo, and I don't think that I was ever capable of saying something like this if I've never met you. Does that mean something?"

Duo sniffled and nodded.

"I bring something other than death..."

"Baka!" Heero said harshly and grabbed Duo's shoulders. "I did not just say all that only tell you that you don't bring death. It was to tell you that you are more than that, that you mean more to me! I need you..." Heero said right in Duo's face and the braided pilot smiled.

"You know just what to say to make me happy, Hee-chan." Duo gave a small smile, letting Heero know that he was back to himself. Heero smiled too.

"Baka... You scared me." Heero admitted.

"I know. I'm sorry. I won't do it again." Duo mumbled like a little child caught stealing.

"No, just promise you won't deal with it alone. Everyone can help you, like you've helped us. What can I do to help ease your mind? You talk and pull pranks all the time but I don't know what to do. Do you want to eat?"

Duo's tears stopped and he was now grinning like a madman and Heero was becoming weary of it.

Before Heero could suggest something else, Duo placed his finger on Heero's lips and shushed him.

"I never thought I would say this to you but, shut up, Hee-chan, you talk to much."

Duo smiled lovingly at the blue-eyed teen and leaned into kiss him. Their lips touched softly and grazed over each other again and again. Duo and Heero forgot everything else but each other.


End file.
